I returned to work. The center, that had been almost empty all summer, slowly started to fill up with academics again, and in the beginning of September the entire staff relocated to the island Stora Karlsö off Gotland for three days, to plan, strategize and bond.
I had never been there before. This small island in the Baltic Sea, mostly inhabited by birds and sheep. But still, there was something familiar with the hard rock, the windswept vegetation and the constant interchange of colors between the sea and the sky. It was a cousin of Koster on the Swedish west coast, and I felt at home.
Mostly, we sat in meetings. It was both fascinating and intimidating, being part of this, taking the step from being a student to being staff, involved, actually asked for my opinion about where the center should go. I don’t really know how to handle this new role that I have yet. I guess it will come, with time. There were dinners, a party, afternoon swims in the sea. And in the mornings before breakfast, I took walks along the shoreline, chatting with the sheep.
Look, how nicely Liz’s splash of color mixes with the stones of the old cathedral in Visby, the Saint Nicolaus church ruin.
Katja Malmborg 